Convertible earring



July 6, 1954 J. CHALIKIAN ETAL 2,682,759

CONVERTIBLE EARRING Filed Dec. 17, 1951 Z5 Mil/511172755 JOHN CHALIKIAN HERMAN GOLD ABRAHAM GOLD BY W 147705175) Patented July 6, 1954 UNITED- STATES CONVERTIBLE EARRING J oh n Chalik'ian; Herman. Gold, and Abraham Gold? New- York; N. Y.

ApplicatiomDecember 17, 1951,; Serial :No. 262,0531

2 Claims.

This inventionrelates to new and useful im-. provements in earrings.

More specifically, the present invention. pro--.- poses the construction of an improvedearring having a main body for extension along the .front of .the ear lobe and upon-whicha novel auxiliary .1

ornamental member is pivotallymounted in a mannerto have a. position surrounding. the main body or to have a position pendedfrom thezmain. body.

Another object of the. present .invention proposes the provision of a novel meanslforlpivotally mounting the auxiliary. ornamental member upon the .mainbody so .that theornamental member .canbe easily pivoted between its two.v positions with relation to-the main body- Still further, the. present. invention proposes.v constructing .the ornamental member so as to.

frictionally'encircle the mainbody in a manner so that such frictional contact between the main body'and .the ornamental member will retain the ornamentalmember in its raised position engagedrabout the main body.

The'present invention further proposes'provid-.

ingthe main'body on the side diametrically "op-. posed'to' theside on whiohthe ornamentalimem beri is pivotedtothefmain b'odywith a stopmem her against which the' ornamental membenwill engage whendn' "the properly aligned position encircling the mainbody.

A further objectpf the present-invention proposes the provision of a means-for holding the ornamental member in a slight forwardly-inclined position-with relation to the main body in a man ner'to'provide for a slightly difierent appearance of I the earring.

As a furtherobjectythe present inventionproposes forming the main body and the auxiliary ornamental member in several different shapes and with several different types of ornamentation NT; OFF! Fig. 1 is a frontelevational view. of the earring... constructed in accordance with the present inven-..

tion.

Fig. 2'is a view similar to Fig. l, but withthe;

auxiliary. ornamental member shown. in its low.-.. eredposition.

Fig. 3 is an enlargedvertical sectional view taken on the.line.3- 3 of Fig. 1.

Fig. 4 is an-enlarged vertical sectional..view.-.

taken onthe line. 4-4 of Fig. '2. 1'.

Fig. 5 is an .enlargedtransverse taken on the line 5-5 of Fig.2.

Fig. 6 is a view. similar-to Fig. 1 illustrating thejearring'.constructedin accordance with a sectional. view.

modification. of the'present invention and with. dot. and .dash lines added to show the auxiliary..

ornamental member in its lowlered position.

Fig. '7 isv a vertical sectional view taken on the line 'i-'--'! of Fig; '6.

Fig. 8 is'an enlarged partial transverse sectional viewitaken on the line 8+8 of Fig 6.

FigI'Q is a view similar to Fig. 6, but illustrating.

the earringconstructed in accordance with a fur-' ther modification of the present invention;

Fig'flO is a side elevation'alview of Fig? 9.

The earring, according .to the' first form-"of the present inventionfshownxin Figs. 1 to 5', includes.

a main bodyZflwhich is cast of precious, semiprecious or any other decorative metal. Th'emainv ,J body 20 :is illustrated as being'dtshed in cross-sec. tion with its front'face convexed and ornamented" by a stone 21 set directly in the center thereof:

Thestone 2 |;'in the'illus'tra'ted form of the .inven -r tion is a'pearl whichmightbeeitherireal or imi= with'a tubular 'member'fi' fora purpose'rwhich i will become clear as this specification'proceedsi The'main body is to be positioned against. the

front of anear lobe; andlextended rearward and upward from the tubular member--22, there is a stirrup23. Oneend of the stirrup 23"i's integrally. formedwith the tubular -member 22 and hasyaninternally threaded'slee've at itsother end." A. screw- 2571s threaded through the sleeve Miami.

for turning itin one direction or the other; At'its his providedat its rear end with a knurledlknob J 26 bywhich a finger. grip can be had on the screw front .end,. the screw .25 carries the usual pad. member 2! for engaging. thelrear face of the ear .;1obe.to clamp. the. earring in position thereon.

Engaged about the main ..b.ody..2t,'..ther.e ,is an.

auxiliary ornamental .membe'r..28 -whichLis pref:

erably cast of the same material used for forming the main body. The auxiliary member 28 is substantially C-shaped in outline and is engaged about the main body 29 with its ends defining its open side located at opposite ends of the tubular member 22. Those ends of the auxiliary member 28 are formed with inwardly directed end aligned trunnions 29. which are turnably fitted into the ends of the tubular member 22 for pivotally supporting the auxiliary member 28 upon the main body 20. The pivotal attachment of the auxiliary member 28 to the main body 20 permits the earring to be worn with the auxiliary member 28 in position encircling the main body 26, as shown in Figs. 1 and 3, or in a position depending from the main body 20, as shown in Figs. 2 and 4.

The auxiliary ornamental member 28 has an internal diameter of a size to fit frictionally about the main body 20 so that the frictional contact between adjacent surfaces of the main body 20 and the auxiliary member 28 in position engaged about the main body. For limiting pivoting of the auxiliary member 28 to a position in which it encircles the main body 20, the main body at the top thereof and diametrically opposite the tubular member 22 is formed with an upwardly projected stop member 39 against which the auxiliary member 28 engages, as best shown in Fig. 3.

The periphery of the auxiliary member 28 is ornamented by small stones 3! which are set into the periphery of the auxilary member. It is preferred that those stones 3| be small pearls to complement the larger pearl used to ornament the main body 20.

From the foregoing description, it is apparent that the present invention proposes the construction of a novel earring which can be worn in either of two positions so as to create the appearance of two different earrings.

The modification of the invention shown in Figs. 6 to 8 is chacterized by a main body 20 encircled by and upon which an auxiliary ornamental member 28 is pivotally mounted just as s in the previous form of the invention. The auxiliary member 28* is ornamented by being molded to have filigree or open work 3l within the periphery thereof.

Furthermore, the modified form of the invention is characterized by the provision of a means for holding the auxiliary ornamental member 28 in a forwardly and upwardly inclined position as shown by the full lines in Fig. '7. This is accomplished by providing the main body 2D on opposite sides thereof with outwardly projected nipples 35, see particularly Fig. 8, arranged to be received within complementary recesses 36 in the auxiliary member 28* when the auxiliary member is moved to the full line position shown in Fig. 7. The recesses 39 are formed in the inner periphery of auxiliary member 28 at suitable locations to be engaged by the nipples 35.

The normal position of the auxiliary member 28 in which it encircles the main body 20 is illustrated by the dot and dash lines 28 in Fig. 7. The depended position of the auxiliary member 28 with relation to the main body 20 is illustrated by the dot and dash lines 28" in Fig. 6.

In all other respects the form of the invention shown in Figs. 6 to 8 is similar to that described in connection with Figs. 1 to and like reference numerals are used to identify like parts.

Referring now to the modification of the invention shown in Figs. 9 and 10, the earring is constructed to include a main body 20 and an auxiliary ornamental member 28 which is pivotally supported on the main body. The main body 20 and the auxiliary member 28 differ from that illustrated in Figs. 1 to 5 only by the shapes thereof. The main body 2|] is of square outline and the auxiliary member 28 is of rectangular outline to complement the shape of the main body. The depended position of the auxiliary member 28 with relation to the main body 20* is illustrated by the dot and dash lines 28" in Fig. 9.

The form of the invention illustrated in Figs. 9 and 10 is in all other respects similar to that described in connection with Figs. 1 to 5 and like reference numerals identify like parts in all of the views.

It is to be understood that instead of the stirrup construction, any other known arrangement may be used for holding the earrings on a wearers ears, such as clips, screw-ons for pierced ears, wire backs, non-pierced screws, etc. The shapes, ornamentation, material and the size of the earrings may also be changed as desired.

While we have illustrated and described the preferred embodiments of our invention, it is to be understood that we do not limit ourselves to the precise method herein disclosed and the right is reserved to all changes and modifications coming within the scope of the invention as defined in the appended claims.

Having thus described our invention, what we claim as new and desire to secure by United States Letters Patent is:

1. An earring, comprising a main ornamental body for extension along the front of an ear lobe, means for supporting said main body in position on said ear lobe, an auxiliary ornamental member engaged about said main body in the plane of the main body, means pivotally supporting said ornamental member in position on said main body to be pivoted between positions engaged about said main body or depended from said main body in prolongation thereof, and means for arresting pivoting of said auxiliary member in a position in which it will be inclined upward and forward from said main body, said means arresting pivoting comprising nipples projected from opposite sides of said main body, said auxiliary member having recesses located to be engaged by said nipples in the forwardly and upwardly inclined position of said auxiliary member.

2. The structure of claim 1 and including an upwardly projected stop member on said main ornamental body, said stop member being in the plane of the main body whereby the auxiliary member may be received within the main body against the stop member in the same plane thereof to efi'ect the appearance of a unitary earring.

References Cited in the file of this patent UNITED STATES PATENTS Number Name Date 249,201 Oliver Nov. 8, 1881 1,045,155 Killion Nov. 26, 1912 1,973,282 Brush Sept. 11, 1934 FOREIGN PATENTS Number Country Date 396,945 France Apr, 24, 1909 6 41,970 Great Britain Aug. 23, 1950 

